Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Boosted by Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.6% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $4,454,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 22.7% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 61,641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,872,000 after purchasing an additional 11,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $497.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $478.66 and a 200-day moving average of $495.86. The company has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.